California
by Percy Son of Neptune
Summary: Percy's single, alone and homeless. Annabeth's popular, friendly and in a steady relationship. Percy thinks it can't get any worse. Annabeth thinks it can't get any better. When one dream changes both of their perceptions on life, what happens? Based on California, a song from one of my other stories, The Big Three. Lyrics inside. Originally a one-shot, possibly a full story. AU


**Ok, here we go. This is my first one-shot, although that will possibly change. I'll explain more at the bottom.**

**This is based off a song from one of my other stories, The Big Three, although you DO NOT have to read that story before you read this one. Everything you need to read this story is right here in this chapter. There is no interconnectedness between the two stories other than the lyrics. They are completely independent of one another.**

**Enjoy Chapter One of California.**

**Disclaimer: I am not Rick Riordan, despite my superior writing ability.**

* * *

Chapter One:

As Percy laid back in his bed, ready to fall asleep on this warm summer day, he thought back to the one time he was truly happy in his life.

It was around three months ago. He was finishing his senior year of high school and things weren't going so well for him. His girlfriend that he had been dating since freshman year had broken up with him and he had lost two of his best friends, a guy and a girl, in a car accident when a drunk driver collided with them head on.

You could say his life was going down the drain, literally. His family had been forced out of their apartment, basically thrown on the streets with no warning, due to a water main break in their apartment. His mom being in the hospital due to a broken leg didn't help things either. No one took him in and Percy was forced to live on the streets for four days. The fourth night under the stars he had a dream, one that would change his perception on life forever.

* * *

Annabeth Chase was flying high. Her life was absolutely perfect. She had tons of friends, an amazing boyfriend who she had been dating for almost four years now and her grades were impeccable. She was class president, school council president and any other type of president you could imagine. She had gotten into her top school in Stanford and was planning on attending there for the next four years. She had gotten recognitions from the Mayor, the Governor of California and even the President himself. Her college fees were already paid off due to her financial aid benefits and many scholarships. She could probably get her master's and be halfway to her doctorate before she would need to borrow money.

Her parents were amazing, almost never fighting, and her two younger brothers, while still annoying, were probably some of the best brothers anyone had ever had. She couldn't possibly think of having a life any more perfect than the one she had now.

Who knew her perceptions on life could change so quickly?

* * *

Percy was in a bar, which was weird, since he was only eighteen. He was alone, which was something he had gotten used to in the past couple days, and surprisingly a beer was sitting in front of him.

He was about to drink away his troubles when something told him to look up and through the doorway into the next room. When he did, however, he saw something that made his heart stop.

A girl his age was sitting at a table all alone. She had blonde hair curled like a princess's and stunning gray eyes. She seemed to be pretty tall and athletic-looking, and she had quite a tan, like one you'd see on girls if you visited California.

The girl had on a tight fitting dress that came down to her knees and gray heels that looked to be only one or two inches tall. He saw that she was barely wearing any makeup and she had only a couple pieces of jewelry on her, a necklace and a couple bracelets that she was winding around her right wrist.

Percy immediately fell in love. This girl was absolutely the prettiest girl he had ever seen.

* * *

_I once met a girl, from California,_

_She was the prettiest girl I saw,_

_Her bleach-blonde hair, and her sky blue eyes,_

_They stole my heart in a second._

* * *

Annabeth dreamt she was in a restaurant alone, which was something that she wouldn't have been caught dead doing in real life. She was wearing a gray tight-fitting dress, which wasn't unlike her. She had grown a somewhat slutty side when in high school. Normally, though, she had her friends with her, so it didn't feel as bad, but now all alone, she felt exposed. She was about to leave when her instinct told her to look up.

She followed her instinct and wasn't sure what to think of what she saw. Through a doorway that she hadn't noticed earlier, she saw a bar, which seemed about halfway filled. Not full, but not empty either.

As she looked over the room, her eyes eventually rested on one table in particular and she almost recoiled in disgust. Sitting there all alone was a homeless man, which she could tell by the clothes he wore. No wait, not a homeless _man_, but rather a guy her age. He had raven black hair that was messy and sea green eyes like the ocean. If she could overlook his clothes, he actually looked pretty cute.

She tried to shake the feeling of attractiveness. She had a boyfriend. She couldn't be going around doing things like this. But she couldn't seem to take her eyes off the guy. He finally smiled at her and Annabeth's heart melted. She forgot she was in a relationship. All she wanted now was this guy.

* * *

_This guy once came, said he was from New York,_

_He was pretty cute with his soft brown eyes,_

_His smile was simply amazing._

* * *

The girl finally looked up at him and Percy had to smile. She seemed to hesitate a second before returning one of her own. If Percy wasn't in love by then, he was now. Her smile drew him in and he didn't realize he was staring until she looked away. It wasn't until she looked back, noticing that he was still staring that he dropped his gaze into a sheepish smile.

Percy looked back up at the girl and the two of them locked eyes once more. He took a deep breath and left the beer behind as he stood up from the table.

As he made his way closer to the door, he could feel his life changing, getting better, with more luck and less hardships. He was brought back to earth when he tripped through the doorframe and landed on his hands and knees. He looked back up at the girl and realized that she was still smiling. He stood up, brushing himself off, and put another smile on his face as he sat down next to her. The trip through the doorframe had planted a seed of doubt in his mind, but the smile made it wash away almost immediately.

* * *

_I gave her a look and she showed me her smile,_

_She drew me in and I stared a while,_

_She looked away and then back once more,_

_Little did she know that she was still adored._

_I finally got the guts to talk with her,_

_So I made my move,_

_I tripped through the door and she still gave me a smile,_

_That's when I knew, it was worth the while._

* * *

The guy stood up and, after tripping through the doorway and making her let out a short laugh, slid into a seat quite close to her. They started talking and almost immediately she forgot he was homeless. He was so easy going and funny, she thought he couldn't possibly be homeless. She didn't remember anything about their conversation other than the fact that he was cute, funny, and actually mildly intelligent.

He led her out of the restaurant and she couldn't help but follow. They made their way out to a beach and she took off her heels as the guy wrapped his right arm around her shoulders. They walked along the beach for a little while before she couldn't help herself. She stopped and leaned in for a quick kiss, fully knowing she was cheating on her boyfriend. She pulled away and started to run down the beach, laughing and looking back to see if he was following. She turned forward quickly to avoid a rock and by the time she turned back around she was being tackled to the beach. The guy was on top of her and they were basically making out.

Annabeth didn't care. This guy was so much more amazing than her boyfriend could ever be and that was saying a lot. Finally he picked her up and the two of them kept walking along the beach, an occasional kiss here and there.

She lost track of time again and soon enough she found herself staring into the sunrise.

* * *

_We talked for hours, he took me to the beach,_

_I knew it wouldn't be long, but I stayed within reach,_

_A short kiss here turned into a longer one there,_

_We kept on walking until we were God knows where._

* * *

Annabeth woke to a beeping noise that she quickly figured out was her alarm clock. She slammed it off and fell back into her pillows, utterly exhausted. Never before had she had a dream like that. One that was so utterly real, but yet so fake.

She knew right away that she would never have that dream again. It was too good to be true and she immediately knew she had lost her only true love once and for all.

* * *

_But that's when it happened, my alarm clock went off,_

_I woke up in the morning, it had only been a dream,_

_I knew that day, I would never dream again,_

_Of that one true love I had ever had, my friend._

* * *

Percy was forced awake, literally. A guy came down the stairs and forced him to head off to the east. He shook his head, trying to come to the realization that it was all just a dream.

The girl he had met was amazing. Smart, cute, beautiful, clever and so much more that he could probably go on for hours talking about her every detail. When she had kissed him, he had felt as if his brain was melting. Then she had run away laughing and he couldn't help but feel complete.

He really wished it hadn't just been a dream. For once in his life, he was finally happy and that was taken away from him like it was nothing.

He wished that girl could actually be with him, right by his side. He wouldn't have complained about anything else in his miserable life, because he would know that he would have her and that's all that mattered to him.

Percy wished he could see her again, if only for a second. However, deep down, he knew that would never happen. He turned and trudged back to his apartment building, seeing if he could move back in yet.

* * *

_I once met a girl, from California,_

_She was the prettiest girl I saw,_

_I only wish it hadn't all been a dream,_

_That she'd be by my side, just like it seemed._

_I only wish I could see her again,_

_That girl I met, from California._

* * *

**A/N:**

**So, what did you think? Kind of short, but oh well. Tell me what you liked/didn't like. It's always appreciated.**

**I know this is a new story, so you may not be familiar with my writing style. At the end of every chapter I write I ask you guys a Question of the Chapter. This can be anything from something about your life to a trivia question about the series. If you want some examples take a look at my other stories.**

**Here is the Question of the Chapter for Chapter One: Do you want me to continue this story?**

**I know, kind of bland, and I know I said it was a one-shot, but now that I've thought on it further, I realize I can take this story onwards if you guys want. It would entail following both Percy and Annabeth in their lives after they had the dream. WARNING: If I do decide to continue this story, you probably won't know for a month or so. I will try to post updates via my Twitter account (for more information visit my profile) and my website (also on my profile). So if it takes a while to upload another chapter of this (if you guys choose, that is) please understand. I am also heading off college here in two weeks, so updates will go down for all of my stories. Thank you in advance.**

**Now, make sure to review!**

**Thanks!**

**-Percy, Son of Neptune**


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